Dubbak seat: It’s Solipetas vs Cherukus again
Congress’ Cheruku Srinivas Reddy and TRS’ Solipeta Sujatha to contest in bypoll
Siddipet: Electoral battle between Solipeta and Cheruku families will continue in Dubbak Assembly constituency with the Congress deciding to field Cheruku Srinivas Reddy, son of four-time MLA and former Minister late Cheruku Muthyam Reddy, as its candidate in the by-election. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Monday announced the candidature of Solipeta Sujatha, wife of Solipeta Ramalinga Reddy who held the Dubbak seat for four terms. The seat fell vacant following the sudden demise of Ramalinga Reddy in August this year. Muthyam Reddy died of illness in September 2019.
Since 2004, Ramalinga Reddy and Cheruku Muthyam Reddy had contested four times against each other. Ramalinga Reddy won three of the four elections against Muthyam Reddy, who won three consecutive elections till 2004, before he lost his first election in 2004 to Ramalinga Reddy. Ramalinga Reddy contested all the five elections since 2004 — 2008 (by-election), 2009, 2014 and 2018 on TRS ticket — and his wife will be contesting on a TRS ticket now.
While Muthyam Reddy contested the 1989, 1994, 1999, and 2004 elections on TDP ticket, he contested the 2009 and 2014 elections on Congress ticket. Ending 15 years of election rivalry, Muthyam Reddy joined TRS ahead of the 2018 elections as Congress had denied him the ticket. Muthyam Reddy did not contest the Assembly election for the first time since 1989.
Though the people of Dubbak are all set to see a new MLA other than Muthyam Reddy and Ramalinga Reddy, the new legislator, nevertheless, will be from one of the families.
After Chandrashekhar Rao announced Sujatha’s candidature, Cheruku Srinivas Reddy, who had also aspired for the ticket, quit the TRS in less than two years after his father joined the party in November 2018 as Congress offered him the ticket. Sujatha and Srinivas Reddy will depend on the image of Ramalinga Reddy and Muthyam Reddy respectively. However, the TRS candidate enjoys a huge advantage since the TRS government has carried out a lot of developmental works in the constituency in the past six years.
Sujatha and Srinivas Reddy will also face their family’s old political rival, BJP leader M Raghunandan Rao, who contested the election in 2014 and 2018 and lost both times.
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